Leading contractor Cebarco – which won accolades for having completed the fast-tracked Bahrain International Circuit ahead of schedule – sees good growth potential in the market and has given a vote of confidence to the real estate sector by launching its own realty project in Bahrain.

“We will be commencing work on our own 32,000 sq m residential apartment building in Zinj,” says Khalid M A Rahim, CEO and chairman. “This will be the first in a series of developments the company expects to build in Bahrain.”
The leading contracting firm is working on some of the major landmarks in Bahrain including the highly prestigious Shaikh Isa Library and Conference Centre and the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry headquarters. Other major projects include the 27-km Durrat Highway and the Seef flyovers.
“We anticipate that the Shaikh Isa library project will be completed by mid-2006.  The biggest challenge is the multifunctional aspect of the building. It is not just a library but also an international conference centre, which will also house a museum, an art gallery and lecture theatres. The design of the building has been changed several times to accommodate all end-user requirements and also ensure that the building meets its multifunction target as efficiently as possible.
“This hi-tech building includes advanced audio-video and library systems as well as top quality finishes.  At the moment, some 500 workers are currently working on the finishing and fit-out works for the project,” says general manager Peter Sellers.
The audio-visual works has been subcontracted to Siemens. The library will be the first component to be completed as soon as the power supply is commissioned. The Ministry of Works is expected to award the landscaping package shortly.
Cebarco has just started work on the Chamber of Commerce building under a BD8.29 million ($21.2 million), following completion of piling works by geotechnical contractor, Keller Grundbau.  The 100-m-high steel frame building, being constructed on a fast track within 18 months, will be surmounted by a globe, which will house a business club and restaurant.  The 22-storey building will have a 750-seater auditorium, a business centre, a library, a cafeteria and majlis on the ground floor. The basement will have a parking facility for 170 cars. The first four floors will accommodate the BCCI offices, which will also include a training centre and lecture halls. The remaining 16 floors will be rented out as office space.
Construction work is ahead of schedule on the 27-km three-lane highway connecting the Durrat Al Bahrain resort.  The BD18 million dual carriageway project, which includes emergency hard shoulders, will feature five bridges. 
“The bridges comprise 40-m-long pretensioned beams, each weighing some 70 tonnes, which are cast in-house by Cebarco and transported to site via a special equipment that has been brought in from Malaysia,” explains A Rahim.  “Around 70 per cent of the asphalt base course has been completed and we have started work on the wearing course.”
The project, which includes 120 km of crash barriers, is scheduled for completion by mid-2006.
Among other projects, Cebarco is completing work on the variations on its Seef flyovers contract, which have included U-turns under the bridges and cladding works on the side of the embankments. The scope of the project included two separate bridges and interchanges at the Central Market and Seef, upgrading an existing highway between the bridge structures, a new interchange at Citibank and extensive landscaping works. The project is due for completion next month (February).
Given the upsurge of construction in the market, Cebarco is hopeful of clinching further large contracts in the market. The company has been shortlisted for Al Futtaim’s City Centre project in the Seef District.
“We have established joint ventures to strengthen our capabilities and are tendering on a joint venture basis.  We are also looking at establishing companies in Qatar for construction and building supplies,” Sellers says.
Rahim continues: “There is an enormous amount of work coming on the market both from the public and private sectors including the King Hamad General Hospital in Muharraq, the Shaikh Khalifa Port in Hidd, Ain Adhari, the Royal College of Surgeons and the Sitra bridges.
“We believe that given our success with the Formula One race track – where we have demonstrated our ability both in terms of quality, costs and ability to keep well within schedule – and with our ideology to keep delivering these benefits to the market, we are well placed to secure a sizeable share of the contracts.”
Cebarco has just received recommendation from Lloyds to be awarded ISO9001:2000 certification for its quality management system. “This is an international accreditation showing that we are focused and determined to provide our clients with a quality assured service. This demonstrates our forward thinking and drive to ‘build a better future’,” remarks Sellers.